Class B Market Share, Sales and Shipments

[GeorgeRa]

Gas mileage and high fuel cost could drive this market change. As and large towables are primary guzzlers, followed by Cs and Bs have the best gas mileage.

[avanti]

A retired couple I know bought a towable out of the blue--with no experience and little knowledge. Predictably, their first trip was a disaster. They sold the unit within a month.

[booster]

Originally Posted by avanti

A retired couple I know bought a towable out of the blue--with no experience and little knowledge. Predictably, their first trip was a disaster. They sold the unit within a month.

I think this is has been, and will continue to be, pretty common. Based on the huge number of brand new towables that we see in campgrounds there are an awful lot of newbies or expensive replacements that have been purchased for pandemic use. Many, I think, are now showing up in the resale market.


Similar thing appears to be happening with recreational boats here in Minnesota. Lots of boats sitting in yards and driveways with weeds up over the trailers this last summer. One our neighbors bought a boat early in the pandemic and used it 3 times, maybe a total of 6 hours of use. Last summer it did not move, and appears to be another lawn ornament along with and old car that has been there 20 years now.

[rockymtnb]

Class B wholesale shipments for November 2022 were 1047 units, a 37.5% drop from Nov 2021. Granted those are single month figures which fluctuate depending on chassis availability and production facility schedules. But it may portend an overall slowdown in otherwise torrid Class B market growth.

Overall Class B cumulative production is up 24% over last year. So it's still a strong market, but perhaps a bit less crazy than the last few years.

[phantomjock]

Originally Posted by booster

I think this is has been, and will continue to be, pretty common. ... Many, I think, are now showing up in the resale market.

Similar thing appears to be happening with recreational boats here in Minnesota. Lots of boats sitting in yards and driveways with weeds up over the trailers this last summer. One our neighbors bought a boat early in the pandemic and used it 3 times, maybe a total of 6 hours of use...

We put our sailboat up for sale pre-pandemic, in the premier location - Annapolis. Could not move it. Brokers literally ran out of boats to sell. Could not sell it. Well, it is a world cruising boat, well equipped, and not the weekender people were looking for. It did sell to a small family that wants to "leave" and are ready.
Now, the market has flipped and those who bought big boats are finding they are to much of everything, support, maintenance, and payments.

On one of our trips from FL to MD, there were more 5th wheel rigs heading North & South on I95 than semis. Last trip, back to normal.

Cheers - Jim

[Rocinante]

I will also note that on a very recent trip from Tampa toward Orlando on I-4 as we drove past a large RV dealer (General RV in Dover, FL) we could see a significant number of Class B RV's on the lot. Well over a dozen, maybe 20. They looked new. It's just a whole bunch, considering that for the longest time most dealers haven't had more than a few Class B's of any variety in stock. Does this indicate some sort of change in the market? I dunno, but it was a surprising sight to behold.

[avanti]

So, according to this:
https://rvbusiness.com/impact-of-spr...-the-industry/
there is a pending safety recall on Sprinters that is accompanied by a "do not sell" order. Apparently, this is having a significant effect on B-van sales numbers.

My interest in Sprinters is waning rapidly, so I didn't dig down. But, it sounds like the situation may be creating a noticeable blip in the sales statistics.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by avanti

So, according to this:
https://rvbusiness.com/impact-of-spr...-the-industry/
there is a pending safety recall on Sprinters that is accompanied by a "do not sell" order. Apparently, this is having a significant effect on B-van sales numbers.

My interest in Sprinters is waning rapidly, so I didn't dig down. But, it sounds like the situation may be creating a noticeable blip in the sales statistics.

“The problem — the guide bushing on the parking brake awl may fatigue, possibly resulting in the parking awl not engaging and resulting in vehicle rollaway — was to be rectified with a software update.”

Bushing fatigue to be repaired by software, interesting. 747 Max also fixed engines location problem with software, just took a while.

[rockymtnb]

Class B wholesale shipments once again set a record of 17,206 units for 2022, a healthy 23.1% Year-over-Year increase and the latest in a 3 year streak of record shipments. However signs of an overall softening RV market may be showing as both November and December recorded monthly declines compared to 2021.

Class B unit shipments by year:
2018 - 5881 units
2019 - 4248 units
2020 - 7222 units
2021 - 13827 units
2022 - 17206 units

Share of overall motorized RV market:

Class A - 25.9%
Class B - 29.1%
Class C - 45.0%

[N147JK]

Originally Posted by rockymtnb

Class B wholesale shipments once again set a record of 17,206 units for 2022, a healthy 23.1% Year-over-Year increase and the latest in a 3 year streak of record shipments.

Is this good news? The camping world is already overcrowded with too many campers and not enough campgrounds. We don't go to the "tier 1" national parks anymore, what with waiting lines, required reservations, and timed entry windows (just like Disneyland?). I'm still looking for that time machine to take me back 40 years.

[Punkinhead]

Originally Posted by N147JK

Is this good news?

My hope is the growth in B's will slow the "upgrading" of parks to accommodate huge Class As and Fivers. I love the state parks with narrow, windy, tree lined roads and small sites where the behemoths won't fit.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Punkinhead

My hope is the growth in B's will slow the "upgrading" of parks to accommodate huge Class As and Fivers. I love the state parks with narrow, windy, tree lined roads and small sites where the behemoths won't fit.

X2 plus some text so it will post X2